The Waco Brothers

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The Waco Brothers
At the Metro, Chicago 2011
At the Metro, Chicago 2011
Background information
OriginChicago, Illinois, United States
GenresAlt country, cowpunk
Years active1994-present
LabelsBloodshot Records

The Waco Brothers are an American alternative country, or country-punk rock, band based in Chicago, Illinois, United States.

History

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The Waco Brothers was formed by Jon Langford of the Mekons and Dean Schlabowske of Wreck (band). The group grew out of Langford's wish to play more country-influenced music as the Mekons concentrated more on a punk sound. They were originally put together simply for local Chicago shows, but the success of their Bloodshot Records albums allowed them to tour the US occasionally. Some of the members also participated in Langford's Pine Valley Cosmonauts project.

The band recorded the first of its studio albums in 1995. Their album, Waco Express: Live & Kickin' at Schuba's Tavern is a concert recording which Ken Tucker, the pop music critic for NPR's Fresh Air and editor-at-large at Entertainment Weekly, described as "country as it should be written and played, with a long memory for roadhouse honky-tonks rather than TV-ready music videos."[1] Author and music critic Sarah Vowell told the Chicagoist, "I’ve never been able to find a live band in New York as consistently thrilling and funny and fun as the Waco Brothers."[2] Until the COVID-19 epidemic, the Waco Brothers made a point of performing every year in Austin, Texas, during the South by Southwest (SXSW) festival.[3] In 2020, their annual December performance at Schubas Tavern in Chicago had to be livestreamed without the usual live audience.[citation needed]

In 2012, the Waco Brothers collaborated with Nashville mainstay Paul Burch to produce Great Chicago Fire. The Chicago Tribune said of the album, "If the Rolling Stones were still making great records, this would be it."[4][5]

Members

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For their first albums, the Waco Brothers included Dean Schlabowske (guitar/vocal), Tracey Dear (mandolin/vocal), Alan Doughty (bass/vocal), Mark Durante (pedal steel guitar), and Mekons drummer Steve Goulding). Joe Camarillo (drums) often filled in for Goulding, who had moved to New York City.[6] By 2015, Camarillo had fully replaced Goulding, and Durante had left. Camarillo died of complications of congenital cardiac disease in January, 2021, after surviving COVID-19.[7][8][9] Dan Massey, who had previously substituted on drums whenever Camarillo had been unavailable, became the Waco Brothers permanent new drummer, starting with the band's 2021 concerts. Jean Cook, who had played violin intermittently with the band for years, officially joined the band in 2020.[10][11] AS of 2024 and since approximately 2017, John Szymanski has been a regular substitute Waco Brother on guitar or bass, plus vocals, whenever one of the regular members was unavailable for a particular performance;[citation needed] Szymanski has been a regular member of several of Jon Langford's other musical projects.


Current members

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Dean Schlabowske, Tracey Dear, Jon Langford, Alan Doughty and Joe Camarillo performing on March 15, 2018

Former members

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Discography

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  • To the Last Dead Cowboy (Bloodshot Records, 1995)
  • Cowboy in Flames (Bloodshot Records, 1997)[19]
  • Do You Think About Me? (Bloodshot Records, 1997)
  • Wacoworld (Bloodshot Records, 1999)
  • Electric Waco Chair (Bloodshot Records, 2000)
  • New Deal (Bloodshot Records, 2002)
  • Nine Slices of My Midlife Crisis – with Uncle Dave (a.k.a. David Herndon, journalist) (Buried Treasure Records, 2004)[6]
  • Freedom and Weep (Bloodshot Records, 2005)
  • Waco Express: The Waco Brothers Live and Kickin' at Schuba's [sic] Tavern (Bloodshot Records, 2008) [The tavern is actually named Schubas, for the TWO Schuba brothers.]
  • Great Chicago Fire – with Paul Burch (Bloodshot Records, 2012)
  • Cabaret Showtime [compilation] (Bloodshot Records, 2015)
  • Going Down in History (Bloodshot Records, 2016)[3]
  • RESIST! (2020)
  • The Men That God Forgot (Plenty Tuff, 2023)[10]

Compilation contributions

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References

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  1. ^ Tucker, Ken (10 April 2008). "Waco Brothers, 'Live and Kicking' in Chicago". Npr.org. National Public Radio. Retrieved 2010-07-11.
  2. ^ "Interview: Sarah Vowell". Chicagoist. 21 October 2008. Archived from the original on 2010-06-08. Retrieved 2010-07-11.
  3. ^ a b Schinder, Scott (March 28, 2016). "Q&A: Jon Langford – The journeyman alt-country maverick on the Waco Brothers' acclaimed new album, his new outfit Bad Luck Jonathan and the thrill of having his paintings hung in the Country Music Hall of Fame". Lone Star Music Magazine. Retrieved 2021-04-28.
  4. ^ Margasak, Peter (23 April 2012). "Artist on Artist: Paul Burch talks to Jon Langford of the Waco Brothers". Chicago Reader. Retrieved 2013-05-04.
  5. ^ Dickinson, Chrissie (3 April 2012). "Waco Brothers, Paul Burch combine for 'Great Chicago Fire'". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2021-03-07.
  6. ^ a b c "Nine Slices of My Midlife Crisis – Uncle Dave & The Waco Brothers". Norbert "Nobby" Knape. 2004. Retrieved 2021-04-28.
  7. ^ a b c d Guarino, Mark (26 January 2021). "Rest in Peace to Chicago drummer Joe Camarillo". Chicago Reader. Retrieved 2021-02-11.
  8. ^ a b Johnson, Steve (4 March 2021). "Live music coming to Chicago: GMan Tavern sets live music shows in celebration of late Waco Brothers drummer Joe Camarillo". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2021-03-06.
  9. ^ a b Ludwig, Jamie (17 September 2021). "Joe Camarillo's friends and bandmates come together to celebrate the drummer's life and music". Chicago Reader. Retrieved 2021-09-27.
  10. ^ a b "The Men That God Forgot, by Waco Brothers". Plenty Tuff. March 2023. Retrieved 2023-03-05.
  11. ^ The Cedar (14 October 2022). "Q&A with Jon Langford of Waco Brothers". The Cedar. Retrieved 2022-10-21.
  12. ^ Dear, Tracey (2009). "Tracey Dear founded Dear Productions in 1998 with a desire to use his vast knowledge of event lighting to pursue architectural projects". Dearproductions.com. Retrieved 2021-09-27.
  13. ^ Schlabowske, Dean. "Deano Waco – home". Archived from the original on 2010-05-24. Retrieved 2020-04-04.
  14. ^ H.L. Mencken [sic]. "Dollar Store". Bloodshotrecords.com. Retrieved 2020-04-04.
  15. ^ Schlabowske, Dean. "Ramblin' Deano". Deanschlabowskemusic.com. Retrieved 2020-04-04.
  16. ^ Ankeny, Jason. "AllMusic.com". AllMusic.com. Retrieved 2012-06-29.
  17. ^ Jones, Rob (2011-02-21). "Interview with Hushdrops, Who Play 'Divine' – The Delete Bin". Thedeletebin.com. Retrieved 2020-04-04.
  18. ^ Bessman, Jim (July 2013). "M Music & Musicians Magazine » NRBQ". Mmusicmag.com. Retrieved 2020-04-04.
  19. ^ Paul Verna (25 January 1997). "Reviews & Previews". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. p. 59. ISSN 0006-2510.
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